Yep, it's grey and rainy outside and i've got half marathon training to do, but its not the rain that's driving me into my local dungeon of a fitness first, it's the draw of the tread. I hate treadmill training. I'd much rather be outside, however, my hatred does not stem from boredom, but from fear, and that's the way it should be. Boredom is the enemy of fitness gains, it kills motivation and it basically means you're just not working hard enough. If you've ever been on a treadmill and your mind has been free to wander away from the task at hand, you're doing it wrong.
With that in mind, here are a few do's and don'ts to really get the most out of your treadmill training;
1. HAVE A GODDAMN PLAN
This is key to a good treadmill session. Running fitness is earned by training the body to work in a variety of different heart rate zones, for different periods of time. Running sessions are generally grouped-
- Steady-state runs, long runs, easy short runs - all best done outside.
- Progression runs, great on a treadmill! as you can see and control the increase in your speed, find a comfortable pace and then increase by 0.5kmp every km. e.g. start @9.5kmph, then increase 10kmph, 10.5kmph, etc etc. for 5k. the last km should be uncomfortable!
- Intervals, also great on a treadmill as again you can set your speed and force yourself to stay there. Try using the below timings pyramid and play around with the speeds to suit you.
- Hill sprint runs, another great treadmill session for those who live in london with limited access to hills! For this one you can change the incline only or the speed and incline to include period of work and recovery;
- Fartleks, haha! Sorry. Meaning SPEEDPLAY, this one is great for practicing race surges and takes you through different energy systems. Try this;
| Interval | Speed/ incline | |
| Warm up | 5 minutes - walk/slow jog at 3.5 MPH, at a 7% incline. | |
| One mile | Run at 6.0 MPH, at a 1% incline. | |
| Rest Set | Slow it down to 5.0 MPH and run for 3 minutes. | |
| Work Set | Speed up to 6.8 MPH for 30 seconds. | |
| Rest Set | Go back to 5.0 MPH for 3 minutes. | |
| Rest/Work Sets | Keep repeating the 3 minute/30 seconds intervals until the clock reaches 25 minutes. | |
| One mile | Run at 6.0 MPH for another mile. | |
| Cool down | Slowly jog for 5 minutes at 3.5 MPH at a slight incline (5% to 7%). |
- Tempos,made for the tread! teach your body to finish fast- Warm up for 1.5 to 2.5 miles, then run a mile at 15 to 20 seconds slower than half-marathon pace (talking should take some effort). For the duration of the run, pick up the pace every mile by five to 15 seconds until you're running the final mile 15 to 20 seconds faster than your half-marathon pace.
Now that you have your session WRITE IT on a piece of paper, wrap it round your water bottle and secure with a hair toggle (elastic band boys). Now, you can easily check it, and it wont fly off the monitor.
2. INCLINE
Your treadmill should always be at a MINIMUM incline of 1.5 - otherwise you're basically running down a hill. Remember you've got none of the variables of outdoor training; wind, terrain etc so you need to replicate them.
3. WARM UP
This is as important for your mindset as for your body. You need to fire up the signals in your brain that tell your muscles to WERK. So, warm up for about 10 minutes before hitting the sprints, increase your speed gradually, start with a walk or steady jog and add a couple of points to your speed every few minutes until you reach a pace that feels just a little uncomfortable. AND FFS Do not stretch cold muscles.
4. POSITION
DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME. I see a lot of treaders running so close to the front of the treadmill that they box in their arms and legs, altering their natural running stride. This also means that when the speed kicks up they underutilise their arm drive. Think about the whole length of the tread and position yourself in the middle.
